One of my readers, Rod got in touch from Western Australia yesterday, very excited about a scooter that had turned up in a shed where it had sat, unmolested for the last 35 years. It’s a Model F, The F is a pretty rare sight these days… I think by the time it was being produced in ’53 to ’54 the panelled LD was becoming the dominant Lambretta model, and they were of course also still selling the latest incarnation of the D model, one of Lambretta’s most successful models to date.
Something in the back of my mind tells me the E’s and F’s were more successful as the front end of Lambretta’s commercial range… but my knowledge of these vehicles is almost non-existent, so maybe you could enlighten me if you know more!
Anyway, back to Rod’s F. He managed to pic it up for A$350. As you can see from the pics, it’s not in too bad condition, and Rod says everything is there, and completely original, barring the lock for the boot cover plate. So if you’ve got one of those around, drop me a line and I’ll put you in touch with Rod.
These wonderful tax discs tell their own story… the two older older two ones were behind the top one… so the scooter has been resting in that shed since 1976… 38 years! Rod is now approaching the Department of Transport to see if he can get the original number plate; UG 322.
And I know it’s superficial, but I think my favourite part of the whole scoot is the original “Aussie Rules” Shell decals on the inside of the inside of the leggies… a real period piece!
New owner Rod is no newbie when it come to Lambrettas either… He’s sent me this fantastic pic of himself astride his first Lambretta, a C Model, in about 1960 when he was 17, which he later upgraded to a D Model, pictured below. Just shows, once you’ve got the Lambretta bug, you’ve pretty much got it for life. I can’t wait to see pics of Rod riding his restored F in the Aussie sunshine. Keep us posted mate!
The last pic, and probably my favourite, is Rod 53 years after the shot on his “C”, obviously enjoying his new purchase…
F is for FORKS…
A couple of eagle-eyed readers have pointed out that the forks don’t look correct for the model F, as you can see in the pic below, they are ‘swept back’ rather than the more standard Lambretta style forks, as seen on the D, and evolved on later models. It’s being looked into! UPDATE: The forks problem has been resolved, but it warrants a post of it’s own (stay tuned). We’ll leave it at this for the moment: A) Rods Lammie is DEFINITELY an F, and B) I’ve learned something new!
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